Syria Analyst: Civil War has Set Country Back Half a Century (AUDIO INTERVIEW)

New study shows 42% average deterioration in living conditions since 2010 – though if social and institutional declines are included, picture is far worse

Syria’s almost nine-year civil war has led to death, destruction and population upheavals rarely seen since World War II. Less studied, though, is what the war has done to the country’s economy and standard of living.

The Syria Living Conditions Index, just published by Britain’s Royal Institute of International Affairs, or Chatham House, shows an average decline of 42 percent since 2010, the country’s last peaceful year. Worst hit is Idlib Province – still the scene of regime-rebel fighting ^[1] – with a 67% decline.

The Media Line spoke with Zaki Mehchy, a Damascus native and the primary Chatham House figure behind the index, who believes that with all empirical aspects of society thrown in, the civil war has set Syria back some 50 years.